The Oarsman Tackle Winter Blues On New Album

By Katie Karpowicz in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 25, 2013 7:20PM

When Chicagoist talked to Tandem Shop Records co-owners Sam McAllister and Megan Frestedt last month about the label's fifth anniversary there was one subject the conversation kept drifting towards: The Oarsman's new album, Writing House. More specifically, how great The Oarsman's new album was going to be.

So, we took their advice and gave the album a few spins when it was released this week.
It's not easy to make simple acoustic pop-folk songs sound as full bodied as The Oarsman does. It's the subtle nuances in these 10 songs that set them apart both from each other and from similar-sounding songwriters. The whistling and buried harmonica on "First Flight" stand alone on this album and the wind chimes that flicker through the intro of "Make A Tape" actually give us the feeling of sitting on our porch on a cool Autumn night.

"The Writing House is where we go when the northern winds of a Midwestern winter force us indoors," begins the album's description on The Oarsman's Bandcamp page. The quote reminded this writer of her own personal "writing house" —that physical and emotional space one goes when the winter begins. Where you tuck yourself away with your creative thoughts and ideas for projects, where you feel no guilt about not leaving the warm house for days just to work those thoughts and projects out.

Just one listen to this record though and you'll be reminded of why we find ourselves praying for spring by February each year. Writing House loses its upbeat gusto mid-way through the LP and takes a turn into cynicism and hollow melodies. It's as though the album literally gets the wind knocked out of it. The final track, "Gravity's Rainbow," is a piano-driven, slow motion punch to the gut that proves just how deep this young band can get. The album as a whole is a spiral into the seasonal affective disorder-induced journey through winter and it left Chicagoist with chills.